PAYDAY Secret ARG
Payday Secret 2012 was the ARG event prepared by the game developer Overkill Software n the second half of 2012 for the player base amusement. The ARG consisted of in-game and on Steam forum published clues. The ARG clues were supposed to navigate players to the second (secret) vault (later named Overvault) in the First World Bank map. ARG participants were awarded several ways: people that significantly contibuted the ARG puzzle solution were immortalized by listing their names on the secret vault plaquettes, first team of players that reached the Overvault was dipicted in the First World Bank meeting room painting, other players reaching the Overvault a legit way were awarded by the membership in PDSecret steam group enabling the Secret mask set . The Secret ARG was initiated shortly after the Wolf Pack DLC was released in August 2012 and players learned how to play one of the new maps Counterfeit. Some players raised in the official Payday Forum questions, if it is possible to make the whole Counterfeit heist in stealth mode. The initial opinion was that the map could be played completely in stealth and after successful finishing a player would be awarded by the Pacifist achievement. Bo Andersson, the CEO of the Overkill Software, started to provide cryptic clues few days after the DLC was released to get the Payday community hunger for the Secret. After resolving the in-game puzzle the first team reached the Overvault at the beggining of Novemver 2012. Bo announced the Secret discovery to public and opened 30 days period of Secret finalization after which the event would be over and the Secret removed from the game. During the given period 837 players reached the Overvault and received the grand prize. The next Patch 21 in December altered the game to remember the Secret event with its contributors and reduced conditions to obtain the Overdrill achievement on low difficulties and with any mask set. History of the Payday Secret 2012 event Chase down Matt The first objective is pretty simple. All you have to do is walk through the glass door in front of you, take a right, and shoot a few Police Officers along the way. After you move up the ramp to the street, two police cars may stop to your left. If so, four Officers will get out and start shooting at you. If a single police car drives by instead, you don't have to worry about the four cops. Be wary, however, because there are many civilians scattered throughout the streets ahead of you, and it's all too easy to shoot one, especially because they tend to run right between you and your enemies. Bain (your contact) will immediately start looking for a way to catch up with Matt. Meet up with Bruce Bain managed to find you a driver to chase Matt. Follow the street forward, and you will encounter a small police blockade you will have to shoot your way through. Unfortunately, Bruce is shot by the cops trying to get to you and smashes into a brick wall. As Bain says, you'll just have to keep moving. Take notice that you can open the car's trunk and there is a chance to find some cash there. Compiled list of all ARG clues Discovered clues related to the Secret ARG were found in the game as well as in the Payday Steam forum communication written by Bo Andersson. Some of the clues were known for long time, however ommited. And other clues were never satisfactionally explained how they relate to the Secret solution. *'Bo's hint about the First World Bank map' Bo stated "The secret is in the banks vault.... on OVERKILL 145+" in early August. This infomation got ommited as a joke or trolling after Bo's alter ego Bank Manager got blackmailed, it seems this information was publicated too early. Perhaps Bo at the time of writing it went affraid of how strong clue he provided. *'Bo's hint about cameras' Bo stated "no.. you want your accuracy - let the cameras be. Cops will appreciate it." in early August. This clue was understood as related to cameras and accuracy statistics. Bo's probably had freshly in his mind the plans about the Secret trigger, so he answered such a way instead of more straight answer to the original question about why shooting such small object as a camera is not counted positively into the accuracy stat. *'Static sound played by radios between song loop.' Statis sound was discovered early during multiplayer games, in single player it cannot be heard. Decoded picture shows MURUA (with R being mirrored), 4 arrows, 8 squares, mark X, Baldwin 1174. *'Static 1 picture' This picture explains the position of the 4 players with golden masks in First World Bank vault hallway. X indicates the small red light that starts to blink after the Secret is activated. The not mirrored R (in comparison to other characters) might help to mirror the word MURUA to AURUM = gold. Baldwin 1174 refers the 13 years old ancestor of French dynasty Baldwin being crowned king of Jerusalem in 1174. Due to leprosy Baldwin was wearing a mask. Players masks should be golden (aurum). 8 boxes are First World Bank vault hallway pillars, arrows mean players looking the arrow directions, X is the beggining of the Secret as later crypto-hinted by Bo. Compas South points to "Last Supper" picture and Ygdrassil tree picture. Compas and map with magnifying glass are oriented the same way, however they are 45° rotated to main orientation of the CF map objects (houses, streets). Compass rug was rotated 180° in patch ???. *'Compass rug in Wilsons kitchen' 'Compas South points to "Last Supper" picture and Ygdrassil tree picture. Compas and map with magnifying glass are oriented the same way, however they are 45° rotated to main orientation of the CF map objects (houses, streets). Compass rug was rotated 180° in patch ???. *'Map with magnifying glass on the desk in Mitchel's kitchen Magnifying glass points to a place in Bolivia, where the Static 2 picture coordinates point *'Last Supper picture' Wilson's Last Supper picture should point players to have a dinner at Wilson's cellar -> to sit on the 4 chairs. Bo's hint regarding the quiet place to have a drink supports that. *'Yggdrasil tree picture ' Yggdrasil picture with compas might give the player hint the Static 2 picture has something to do with the coordinates. Picture is made of 4 parts as 4 players play the game. *'Bo's hint for the second static' Bo stated "Ages of angst. Sob sob sob... I have seen ppl almost there - so close Guys you have to have faith. And if you dont just take a hint from the French sit down with a couple of friends in a quiet place and have a drink. It always makes me think better. Speaking of that I'm almost back. Thanks for the cheers guys, Im soon back to my old evil self. Bo" Sob sob sob = under under under in portuguese. *'Second static sound played in Wilson's cellar' This hint was discovered by ManyShots, who correctly interpreted Bo's hint for the second static as direction to the Wilson's cellar and triggered the second static by sitting all four players on the chairs. *'Static 2 picture decoded' Decoded picture shows numbers and characters 33 42 26 S16, GD RA SIL YG, 40 48 W36 68, which after correct formation using the word Yggdrasil make the coordinates: S16°33'42.26" W68°40'48.36". The coordinates S16°33'42.26" W68°40'48.36" point to Puma Punku temple in Bolivia. *'Puma Punku temple' Puma Punku temple as a clue to the Secret solution was never explained. *'Hacked Secret Masks textures' The Secret Masks textures were discovered, this clue cannot be counted as intentional, however textures were discovered and publicated, so they could be used as an unitentional clue. The Secret Masks decoration refers certain elements from the Counterfeit map. Dallas - French flag with Beta 2, Hoxton - blue Fleur-De-Lys, Wolf - dollar bill pattern, Chains - Yggdrasil tree. French motive - Mitchel is a French, Baldwin was of French ancestory, Bo was refering French in his forum replies. French motive as a clue was never explained. None of the French motive relations seemed to provide any help into solution. Beta 2 on Dallas Secret Mask motive - Beta 2 symbol on Dallas Secret Mask was never satisfactionally explained. Beta 2 may refer intention of Beta testing of Payday 2 being the 2nd grand prize of the secret solution. Fleur-De-Lys is a repeated motive in relation to this Secret. FDL is shown in Counterfeit Mitchel's boy room wall painting, near Overvault puzzle tiles, on anniversary poster card backsides, on Hoxton's Secret mask. FDL in boys room as a symbol of French royalty may represent link to Baldwin becoming a boy king. Lilium is a toxic flower - it's symbol in First World Bank Overvault hallway may identify the poisoness of the gas. Any of these interpretations don't seem to work as a clue leading to the whole Secret puzzle solution. Meaning of Wolf's mask depicted motive as a clue was never explained. The dollar bill motive may refer the Counterfeit map plot - counterfeit money being printed in the underground shelter. Yggdrasil tree motive on Chains Secret Mask - Yggdrasil was clearly used as a clue in the Secret solution to restructure the 2nd Static picture to get Puma Punku coordinates. *'Bo's hint about pillars' Bo stated "Consider that when you ponder upon the pillars of which this mystery lies. Baldwin, Gold, the temple and the X.". This hint was interpreted correctly by thaismai and later confirmed by next Bo's comment. Unfortunately this was still not enough and people got distracted other directions. *'Payday anniversary poster' 18-Oct-2012 Overkill Software published the anniversary poster finally showing all clues needed to trigger the Secret all together: *Prima Mundi Ripam = First World Bank - confirmation of the heist map *Static 1 picture - players positions in First World Bank hallway wearing golden masks *Poker cards with Fleur-De-Lys symbol *Corkscrew and cake composition definitelly confirms previous theories, corkscrew represents the the drill in First World Bank , candles are pillars, strewberries are players, chockolate is the security desk *Players wearing gold masks and 3 arrows pointing at number 145 on Hoxton's golden mask are the definite confirmation of the golden masks and OK145+ difficulty *2 operational cameras - instruction to keep cameras intact *Thermite can - near thermite placing location above the vault is the next step of the Secret puzzle *'Counterfeit rug pattern' Counterfeit rug pattern is the pattern of correct tiles to be pressed in front of the 2nd vault door after the Overdrill door is opened. The pattern visible on several rugs in CF map was discoverd and discussed amongst the Payday Secret solvers. But untill the tiles were discovered no connection was identified. Players were trying unsuccessfully to trigger the Secret by positioning based on the 1st static picture, however all 3 conditions such as golden masks, Overkill 145+ difficulty and especially working cameras together were not known. Bo's hints from 9-Aug regarding the map, difficulty and cameras were completely ignored. Masks with difficulty were experimented at the same time, but experienced players (golden mask wearers) are used to automatically destroy cameras during their game. 7200 seconds Overdrill walkthrough The steps how to trigger the Secret in its original form were: *start the First World Bank heist on Overkill 145+ difficulty *all four players had to be wearing the Golden masks *leave all four security cameras in the vault haway intact *all four player must stay in the position identified from the mirrored Static 1 picture projected on the vault hallway floor plan: the hallway entrance, at security desk, between pillars on both sides near the security desk *red light flashing indicates the Secret was triggered and previously hidden door above the vault is reveald with a position for the drill *a player with the drill places the drill at the reveald door, the drill counter starts at 7200 seconds = 2 hours *after the 7200 seconds the drill is finished and the door opens Overvault hallway, in front of the Overvault there are tiles on the floor that might be interacted and the Fleur-De-Lys symbol *pressing the correct tiles opens the Overvault and unlocks the Overdrill (Tester) challenge / achievement to every player who is not in custody and plays the heist from the start *when a wrong tile is pushed the green smoke fills the Overvault hallway, the green smoke makes the same damage as the burning thermite; there is no known method to stop the green smoke and reset the tiles to allow the tiles puzzle be correctly pushed Overkill Software accepted also the videos with the players who were in custody during the Overvault opening and missed the challenge / achivement. This allowed such players to get the grand prize while enabling the Secret Masks was then dependent on player's ability to make another succesful run unlocking the achievement. Overvault was decorated by four Secret Masks and the Overkill Software message The recommended load for the secret was Extra Start Out Ammo , 2 * Big Game Hunters , 2 * More Blood To Bleed , 2 Ammo bags and 2 Medic bags , Broncos , GL40 and main weapons per players preference. Due to 2 hours long waiting for the Overdrill to finish the biggest problem was to keep the ammo. Ammo conservation techniques were essential parts of the successful strategy. Also using the stopwatch to presicesly measure the 2 hours drill was helpfull to prepare for the first assault pause afther the drill is finished. For the host player the easiest way to gain full ammo and health is to be traded from custody by a controlled falling into bleedout before the assault ends. In the First World Bank map on Overkill 145+ difficulty the assaults take 7:30 and the pause in between assaults is exactly 1:00. With knowing the secret trigger conditions and the tiles puzzle the easiest strategy was to start the game and make the first whole drill during camping the in the bank management area. This part up to finishing the first drill was pretty easy and players should keep almost all health and ammo for the Overdrill without dropping any bag yet. Players were adviced to make as much hostages as possible around the map for later use. Triggering the Secret after keeping cameras in the vault halway intact and standing in correct positions was sometimes difficult due to sync issues between players. After the Secret was succesfully triggered, the drill player was supposed to place the drill on the revealed Secret door to Overvault hallway. Since the Secret is triggered the remaining cameras might be destroyed. Then the hard time started to survive for 2 hours. The easiest camping location are 4 niches at the entrance to the vault hallway. Players should split into two pairs staying in niches on both sides of the passage dropping a medic bag on one side and ammo on the other. After two or three assaults the game could get into balanced state that almost no cops were approaching the camp from the bank front office and majority of them came from the vault hallway. The possition on both sides of the passage allows to get cops into a cross-fire and ammo being possible to recover without endangering players. Occasional tasers and clockers should be killed pretty easily, dozers were almost never encountered. Using bags was necessary only in really needed situations to conserve the important resources. Getting traded from custody allows to regain freely 100% of ammo for the game host, 50% to the other three players. Before the last assault is over players should refill health and ammo, if necessary dropping the last bags might be needed. As soon as the assault pause is announced by Bain, all four players should storm the vault hallway and fight their way to the opened Overdrill door and Overvault hallway. Three players should defend the player interacting the tiles puzzle in front of the Overvault door. When he is done the Overvault opens and the players are awarded by the Overdrill achievement. Players currently in custody or those, which were not playing the whole game from the start didn't get this achievement. In the Overvault there are 70 golden bars each worth 1,000 K. After taking the gold the players may eventually continue the heist to with other map objectives, however this was not necessary for the Overkill Software to accept the team into Payday: The Secret group. During the heist players had to record a video showing the Secret trigger and last storming the Overdrill door with opening the Overvault as the evidence they did the Secret and send it to Overkill Software. The conditions to make the Secret legit way were: *Not using any cheaters, cracks and hacks *Playing the game no exploit way (position under manager desk was eliminated by an invisible wall in Patch 20) Game updates related to the Secret in patch 21 When the Secret event was over Overkill Software released Patch 21, which included some game alterations related to just finished Secret event. Overdrill achievement *Tester challenge and achievement were renamed to Overdrill. *The secret trigger possibility remained in the game, since Patch 21 the Secret could be triggered on any difficulty with any masks. The drill duration was reduced from 7200 seconds (2 hours) to 2000 seconds (33:20 minutes). Overvault *The Overvault was slightly rearanged. Salutation message from Overkill Software was removed as well as Secet Masks decoration. *Mayan gold was slightly rearanged due to altered room disposition while the amount of 70 gold bars remained the same. *The X-mass present in the First World Bank triggering the Last Christmas achievement was added on top of the table gold. *On the left and right side of the Overvault two plaquettes were installed to immortalize people that significantly contributed resolving the Secret and helped others to reach the Overvault. Conference room in management area *The projection screen in the conference room was put on the other wall, in its original location a picture displaying Team 7200 is placed. The picture is usually generated in the standard form, with about 30% chance the picture is shown in its scary form with a spooky melody being played by the nearby radio. Honorary mentions of the Secret solution contributors Money bundles There are several money bundles placed randomly around the heist, though most of them are indoors. When the crew's driver Bruce crashes, there is a chance the trunk will be filled with 15 money bundles. Secret solution grand prizes The players who were invited into Payday: The Secret group after Overkill Software evaluated their evidence of completing the secret received the grand prize, which is two gifts: *The Secret mask set in the game. The game tests, if the player has unlocked the Overdrill achievement and is a member of the Payday: The Secret group. *Message from Bain (14-Dec-2012 19:01, only accessible by PDSecret group members): "Team, we finally made it. Hitting FWB and stealing the Mayan gold under the nose of Mr Trust. This surely sent a message on the CrimeNet. I'm picking up much more heat than expected though. We have to lay low for a while and then get out of town. Senior Hector is eager to close this deal. We will meet up with his right hand man in DC next year to test the grounds and fence the gold. Over Christmas you guys need to stay low - don't spend anything! This is the big one gentlemen - we have to nail it and then we can sip drinks in the Caribbean - resident style. I'll arrange the gear ahead of time and will get back to you on the specifics in a while. This is our PAYDAY! Bain." The meaning of the message is not clear, however it could be interpreted as a hookup to Payday 2. Trivia *Originally the Overdrill achievement and challenge were instroduced to game files in Patch 15 under name Tester. In the change log it was mentioned as: Added a tester achievement to test a new way of giving out achievements - u can not get it right now only OVERKILL devs can. *The first group triggered the Secret at the beggining of November 2012. They created the Steam group Team 7200 where 7200 is the amount of seconds needed by Overdrill to finish. Team 7200 reached the Overvault 3-Nov-2012 and went into contact with Bo. *8-Nov-2012 player eeth named the 7200 seconds drill Overdrill , this name was widely accepted and Overkill Software renamed the Tester achivement to Overdrill with Patch 21. *The list of all players who reached the Overdrill and were eligible to join the Payday: The Secret group is located here . *Last team who did the Secret reached the vault about 15 minutes before the deadline. They had not enough time to try finishing the complete heist because of the video preparation and submition the mail with evidence to Overkill Software . The video from their attempt. *Secret run statistics - succesful attempts per players: